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Everybody wants to own the end of the world.
Don DeLillo, Zero K, 2016
Authors Note
Some names, locations, and identifying details have been altered and certain events have been reordered. In making some of these changes, I was mindful of the words of one person who wishes to remain anonymous: Whats the point of prepping if everyone knows youre prepping?
This research was generously funded, in part, by a Sydney Fellowship from the University of Sydney in Australia. However, the university did not sanction, condone, or fund the journey undertaken in the books codathat wholly irresponsible adventure was undertaken entirely of my own volition.
Acronym and Argot Glossary
4KA high-resolution screen with a horizontal display of approximately four thousand pixels.#10 CanThe most ubiquitous long-term food storage can. Each can holds about a gallon.ADFAustralian Defence Force.AFPAustralian Federal Police.After TimeThe time after an event (see PAW).Agent BZ3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate nerve gas.AIArtificial Intelligence. Intelligence demonstrated by machines.American RedoubtAn area in the northwestern part of the United States designated by survivalist James Wesley, Rawles as the best place in the world to ride out TEOTWAWKI.APCArmored Personnel Carrier.ArmageddonThe eschatological notion of a literal or metaphorical gathering of armies for a battle during the end times.ATFBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.BBBBetter Business Bureau. A nonprofit established in 1912 to enhance consumer trust.BLMBureau of Land Management.BoltholeA survival retreat. Also called a doomstead.Bug-In Bag (BIB)The essentials for hunkering down.Bug OutTo leave quickly.Bug-Out Bag (BOB)A bag with enough supplies to survive on the move for seventy-two hours. Also called a go-bag.Bug-Out Location (BOL)The place you retreat to in an event.Bug-Out Vehicle (BOV)The vehicle you will use to escape, and/or your mobile bunker.Button UpSeal the bunker.BVPBioengineered Viral Pandemic. A human-engineered viral contagion that is let loose on the world.CCTVClosed-Circuit Television.CDCCenters for Disease Control and Prevention.CERNThe European Organization for Nuclear Research. The largest particle physics laboratory in the world.CFCChloroflourocarbon.CGIComputer-Generated Imagery.CGWHQ(United Kingdom) Central Government War Headquarters. Colloquially known as the Burlington Bunker.CMECoronal Mass Ejection. A significant release of plasma and a magnetic blast from the suns corona.COGContinuity of Government.COVID-19A strain of coronavirus pathogen that emerged late in 2019 from Wuhan, China, and grew into a global pandemic in 2020.CRISPRA technology used to edit genomes in organisms, including humans.CROWSCommon Remotely Operated Weapon Station.CryonicsThe low-temperature freezing and storage of a human corpse or severed head, for potential future resurrection.CUTChurch Universal and Triumphant.DARPADefense Advanced Research Projects Agency.Deep LarderEnough food for an individual, family, or community to survive for months or years.DHSDepartment of Homeland Security.DIYDo It Yourself.DNADeoxyribonucleic Acid. The self-replicating main constituent of chromosomes, the building blocks of life.DODDepartment of Defense.DMZDemilitarized Zone. A strip of land separating North and South Korea.DRTDisaster Response Team.DUMBSDeep Underground Military Bases.EDCEveryday Carry. Basic tools like a pocketknife, flashlight, lighter, or phone always to hand.ELEExtinction Level Event.EMPElectromagnetic Pulse. A burst of gamma rays from a solar flare or nuclear explosion that could disrupt or destroy electronic equipment.EventA serious event that has the capacity to shift social and/or political order. The trigger can be environmental or anthropogenic.(the) FallThe collapse of civilization.FBIFederal Bureau of Investigation.FCDAFederal Civil Defense Administration.FEMAFederal Emergency Management Agency. Some preppers say it stands for Foolishly Expecting Meaningful Aid.FIFOFirst In First Out (system for food storage).FSB(Russia) Federal Security Service.FTDFirst to Die.Generational TheoryA theory that every eighty years there is an inevitable, and necessary, period of turmoil in United States history.GeoengineeringThe deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earths climate system.GFCGlobal Financial Crisis (of 2007/2008).GOODGet Out of Dodge.GSAGeneral Services Administration. An agency established to support the function of federal agencies by managing real estate, services, and products.HAARPHigh Frequency Active Auroral Research Program. A $290 million installation built by the United States Air Force and Navy to study Earths ionosphere.Hard ResetA localized event of major impact, like the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion.Hardened ArchitectureEngineering and constructing a building to be more resilient against external threats.HARTS(North Korea) Hardened Artillery Sites tunneled into the sides of mountains.HEMPHigh-Elevation Electromagnetic Pulse.HEPAA popular, and very effective, air filtration system.HI-EMAHawaii Emergency Management Agency.Homestead PreppersPreppers focused on self-sufficiency and off-grid living. They often craft, make, and repair items rather than buying them. Also called prepsteaders.ICBMIntercontinental Ballistic Missile.ICOInitial Coin Offering (of cryptocurrency).INCH BagIm Never Coming Home bag.Intentional CommunityA planned residential community designed around a common social, political, or religious ideology.IRISNASAs Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph observation satellite. Built to observe the suns atmosphere.ITV GrowlerUS Army Internally Transportable Light Strike Vehicle.JLTVUS Army Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.LDS(The Church of Jesus Christ of) Latter-Day Saints.MADMutually Assured Destruction.MAGMutual Assistance Group.MAGAMake America Great Again. A favorite slogan of US president Donald Trump.MAVMormon Assault Vehicle.MERS (illness)Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. A strain of coronavirus pathogen first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012.MERS (program)Mobile Emergency Response Support (a FEMA initiative).MERVAn air filtration system one step below HEPA.MiGThe Russian Aircraft Corporation. Often used as a shorthand for any Russian-produced fighter jet.Millenniarism (or Millennialism)From Latin
millenarius, containing a thousand. A religious, social, or political belief in a future ideal society created by catastrophic change.MoD(United Kingdom) Ministry of Defence.MREMeal, Ready-to-Eat combat rations.MTAMormon Transhumanist Association.NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration.NASCARNational Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.NBCNuclear, Biological, and/or Chemical.NGANational Gardening Association.NIHNational Institutes of Health.NORADNorth American Aerospace Defense Command. The aerospace control and defense hub for North America.NRANational Rifle Association.NSFNational Science Foundation.NWONew World Order. An alleged emerging clandestine centralized world government.OPSECOperations Security.PAWPostapocalyptic World.PHEICA Public Health Emergency of International Concern, declared by the World Health Organization.PLA(China) Peoples Liberation Army.POW/MIAPrisoner of War/Missing in Action.PPEPersonal Protective Equipment, such as masks and gloves.Practical PreppingPrepping for everyday emergencies.PreppingThe practice of preparing for a range of future crises by bolstering self-sufficiency through community organization, stockpiling, skill development, and the building of defensible space.PTSDPost-Traumatic Stress Disorder.RAND CorporationThe Research and Development Corporation. An American nonprofit think tank created in 1948 to offer research and analysis to the US Armed Forces.RFIDRadio-Frequency Identification. Uses electromagnetic fields to track tags attached to, or embedded in, objects.Ripple EffectAn event that triggers another event, descending into chaos like dominos falling. Also called cascading impact.SARSSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome. A viral illness caused by a coronavirus pathogen strain that manifested in 2002 from the Guangdong province in China.SHTFShit Hit the Fan.SLOAPSpace Left Over After Planning.SolastalgiaA sense of grief and existential dread caused by rapid environmental change.SPAMCanned cook pork produced by the Hormel Foods Corporation. The acronym is thought to mean spiced ham, but during World War II it was often called Special Army Meat.SPLCSouthern Poverty Law Center. An American nonprofit legal advocacy organization that monitors extremism.StalkersExplorers of, and guides into, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone around the exploded Nuclear Reactor No. 4.SWATA Special Weapons and Tactics law enforcement unit.TacticoolClothing and accessories that offer a ready-for-action aesthetic.TEOTWAWKIThe End of the World as We Know It.THCThe main psychoactive compound in marijuana.TranshumanismThe belief that science and technology can assist us in evolving beyond our current physical and mental limitations.UNThe United Nations. An intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and security.USAFUnited States Air Force.UteAustralian shorthand for a utility vehicle.WHOWorld Health Organization.WROLWithout Rule of Law. When the police or military have lost control.YOYOYoure On Your Own. For instance, when the government isnt providing essential services.
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